Reliable Robotics’ Rose on flight automation

Reliable Robotics this month announced it had performed the first flight of a remotely operated Cessna 208B without a pilot on board as the company works to certify its flight automation technology. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company aims to achieve certification in 2025, after which it will be able to operate uncrewed flights carrying commercial cargo using the Cessna 208B. “Our opinion is that the right way to bring these sorts of systems to market is to follow the process,” co-founder and Chief Executive Robert Rose says in this week’s episode of the “Cargo Facts Connect” podcast. “And the process is you need to get this through the supplemental type certification work and then you need to modify your airline certificate to be able to use that STC equipment, and that’s what we’re working on. That’s what we’re planning on doing.” Simply talking about uncrewed operations and actually going ahead with certification are very different things from an organizational, procedural and safety analysis perspective, Rose said. “It forces some very different conversations that I think are healthy and necessary,” he said. “It also helps us build data for the FAA that they need to better understand what’s involved in operating an aircraft and UAS. Flight tests like this, I think, take it out of the academic realm — and nothing against academics — but it takes it out of the realm of theory.” The FAA has been good to work with, contrary to a common perception that it is slow and not receptive to new technology such as uncrewed aircraft, Rose said. “If you talk with people in the FAA, it’s just not true,” he said. “That is just not reflective of the reality; the FAA wants to innovate and people choose that job. They choose that career path because they want to be at the tip of the spear on new technology.” Tune in to this week’s podcast to learn more about Reliable Robotics’ testing and vision as Rose speaks with Cargo Facts Editor Jeff Lee.